American downs George Mason for first dual victory

The American University wrestling team won seven of 10 bouts on Thursday night in Bender Arena on its way to its first dual meet victory of the season, 23-9, over George Mason.

"I was happy with our overall performance," said Head Coach Teague Moore. "Ultimately throughout the 10 bouts I felt that we outperformed their athletes which is big, especially coming off the break for finals week."

George Mason picked up the first win of the match as John Boyle ended up on the short end of a 3-0 decision at 141 lbs. before Kevin Tao put American on the board with a 10-2 major decision over Greg Flournoy. Tao earned the first takedown of the bout and took a 5-0 lead after the second. Flournoy picked up a pair of escapes to put the score at 7-2 in the third period, but Tao was able to add another takedown with seven seconds left and held the advantage in riding time.

The Patriots won the next bout at 157 lbs. to retake the lead but the Eagles bounced back with victories in the next three matches. Phillip Barreiro registered the 5-2 decision over George Mason's Tyler Knepp at 165 lbs. to get American rolling. Knepp posted the first takedown with 20 seconds remaining in the first but Barreiro tied it with a pair of escapes and took a 4-2 lead with his first takedown of the bout, winning it in the third building up riding time throughout the period.

Keithen Cast gave American an 11-6 lead in the match with a 16-6 major decision over Ryan Hembury at 174 lbs. Cast dominated the entire match, registering seven takedowns in the bout. Thomas Barreiro earned a decision over Corey Smith at 184 lbs., taking a 3-0 lead in the second after a scoreless first period and earning the riding time advantage for the 4-0 final score.

George Mason cut American's lead to 14-9 after earning a decision at 197 lbs., but the Eagles closed out the dual winning the final three matches of the night. Blake Herrin earned a 5-2 decision over Jake Kettler at heavyweight followed by a pair of decisions from David Terao and Esteban Gomez-Rivera. Terao posted a 14-8 decision over Richard Lavorato at 125 lbs. while Gomez-Rivera recorded his first win in Bender Arena with a 7-2 decision over Zachary Isenhour at 133 lbs.

American will return to action tomorrow to take on another CAA opponent, Old Dominion, on Friday, December 21 at 5 p.m. in Norfolk, Va.